New Delhi: A day after a five-storeyed building in Maharashtra’s Raigad district collapsed, rescue personnel continued to sift through the rubble in search of survivors, while police said several are still missing. Twelve people have reportedly died because of the collapse.
Until late on Tuesday, eight people had been rescued, while eight more were still missing after the Tareq Garden building in Mahad town, around 170 km from Mumbai, collapsed on Monday evening, an official said.
Remarkably, a four-year-old boy was found alive. The boy’s rescue was caught on camera. The dead include the boy’s 30-year-old mother and two sisters, aged seven and two years, police said.
A man died of cardiac arrest on Monday night after he was hit by a stone from the falling building, police said. “This person was not a resident of the building, but was walking nearby when it collapsed and was hit by a stone from the falling debris. He died of cardiac arrest,” Paraskar said.
Police on Tuesday registered an offence against five persons, including the builder and architect of Tareq Garden in connection with collapse, the official said. The offence was registered against builder Farooq Kazi, RCC consultant Bahubali Dhamne, and architect Gaurav Shah under sections 304, 304A and 338 of the IPC, the official said.
An official at the Mantralaya State Control Room of the State Disaster Management Unit said the Tarek Garden building collapsed at Kajalpura in Mahad tehsil around 7 pm.
There were around 40 flats in the building, the official said, adding those rescued were shifted to a local hospital at Mahad, which is around 170 km from Mumbai.
Teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are at the spot for rescue operations. Canine squads were also deployed at the scene of the collapse, an official said.
“Saddened by the building collapse in Mahad, Raigad in Maharashtra. My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their dear ones. I pray the injured recover soon. Local authorities and NDRF teams are at the site of the tragedy, providing all possible assistance,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office tweeted on Tuesday morning.
Home minister Amit Shah called the accident “tragic”.
The collapse of a building in Raigad, Maharashtra is very tragic. Have spoken to DG @NDRFHQ to provide all possible assistance, teams are on the way and will be assisting with the rescue operations as soon as possible. Praying for everyone’s safety.
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 24, 2020
(With PTI inputs)
Note: The article has been update to reflect the latest death toll.